Parking for the Erie Canal trail crossing Whitbeck Road is on the move.

About 10 years ago, the town constructed a small park for residents to rest while walking on along the trail on the west side of Whitbeck Road. The open space offered plenty of parking for those wishing to walk the popular section of trail between Newark and Palmyra.

Recently residents have questioned the newly constructed road heading west away from Whitbeck Road on the canal’s north side. The road was installed by Dolomite Products Co. after the company purchased the nearby gravel pit from Abram Cleason Co. Inc., said Arcadia Highway Superintendent Dave Harder. Dolomite is expanding the gravel pit to develop a sand and gravel plant, and the road will allow tractor-trailer trucks to easily access the plant off Whitbeck Road. The road also land-locks access to the trail parking and rest area, Harder said.

With regular truck traffic expected entering and exiting the new Dolomite road, Harder said they felt for safety reasons it was best to move the parking and rest area. Harder met with canal and Dolomite officials about a month ago to work out a solution, and a joint venture was agreed upon to move the park across the street.

The town is supplying the labor to construct a parking area on the east side of Whitbeck Road, and the kiosk and benches will all be moved across the road as well. Harder said canal crews will be delivering a load of stabilizing stone to put down for the trail traveling under the bridge, which had been closed because of erosion.

Town crews will dig the trail down to allow proper height for bicyclists on the trail and then put the stone down. Harder said Dolomite is supplying the major part of the materials necessary to complete the project. Dirt fill for the parking area is excess the town had left over from other projects as well as excess materials from construction projects occurring farther down West Shore Boulevard. The only cost to the town is minimal for fuel and some man hours, Harder said.

But the cost, albeit small, will be worth it, Harder said.

“It’s going to be better,” he said. “It’s going to be more safe and, aesthetically, it’s going to be more pleasing for everyone.”